#HTE

New Unexpected Miniature Scenes Staged Inside Jewelry Boxes by Curtis Talwst

Christmas in Durban, 2017

Canadian-Trinidadian artist Curtis Talwst Santiago (previously) imbues vintage jewelry boxes with both bucolic moments and scenes of societal disaster in a collection of work titled Infinity Series. For many, the lid of the box serves as a backdrop for the particular environment, while the bottom serves as a stage filled with miniature figurines and elements of water presented as beach scenes and oceanic voyages.

In his work Deluge Santiago displays a cramped boat transporting dozens of refugees, while in another titled Por que?, he presents a scene of police brutality in a purple velvet-lined box. Each of the small works capture a narrative moment of enormous magnitude, encasing the story in a protected vessel meant to be passed on and displayed.

Santiago’s work is part of the group exhibition Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon opening September 27 at the New Museum in New York City and running through January 21, 2018.

Gaia III, 2017

Deluge, 2015

Nanganesey Creek With Deer, 2016

After Tom After Kim After Acid, 2013

Por que? * With light on, 2015

Olukun (Venus), 2017